I am going to put this out to the group. Below is a query I made to my local library and their response. As you can see they only looked up my specific examples and completely ignored the main question. Anyone have an idea? Are there certain rules for "nouns of origin?" Or are they just by local custom? Ask Us! Online <reflib@pub.multnomah.lib.or.us> wrote:Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 18:42:08 -0800 (PST) To: freeholder679@yahoo.com From: Ask Us! Online Subject: Ask Us! Online: response PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL Your question has been answered by Ask! Us Online, Multnomah County Library's online reference service. Your Question: Looking for rules (if they exist) for "nouns of origin". For example, why are people from Michigan called Michiganers and not Michiganians. Why are people from Oregon called Oregonians and not Oregonites. What do you call someone from Kansas or Idaho? Answers/Sources & Comments: According to the Oxford English Dictionary: Michiganian: 1813 Niles' Reg. V. 185 The Michiganians. 1835 [see WOLVERENE, -INE 3]. 1837 H. MARTINEAU Society in Amer. I. I. 65 The Michiganians were in the singular position of having a state government in full operation, while they were excluded from the Union. Michigander: A native or inhabitant of the State of Michigan. 1848 A. LINCOLN Coll. Works (1953) I. 509, "I mean the military tail you Democrats are now engaged in dove~tailing on to the great Michigander." Oregonian: Hence Oregonese, the people of Oregon; Oregonian a., belonging to Oregon; as n., a native or inhabitant of Oregon; Oregonly adv., after the manner of an Oregonian. 1848 E. BRYANT California xv. 197, I think the Oregonese had a little the advantage of us in this respect. a1861 T. WINTHROP John Brent (1862) xxii. 243 Armstrong's opinion was only my own, expressed Oregonly. 1863 Harper's Mag. Sept. 570/2 If one does not know the �lingo�, he will often be troubled in conversing with the Oregonians. Oregonite is an arsenide of nickel and iron, Ni2FeAs2, which occurs as white hexagonal crystals with a metallic lustre in Oregon and has been made artificially. "1960 Mineral. Abstr. XIV. 500/1 A new nickel-iron arsenide from Josephine Creek, Josephine County, Oregon, is named oregonite." >From the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd ed: A person from Kansas is a Kansan. A person from Idaho is an Idahoan. Sources Checked By Library Staff (if applicable): OED, online. Random House unabr. Dictionary, 2nd ed. HUM N/mc/kp Patron Followup (if any) Library Section(s) Answering the Question: HUM-LIT/HIST Thank you for using Ask Us! Online. If you need more information, please send another question to Ask Us! Online (http://www.multcolib/askus/). Be sure to include the question ID number from this question if it would be helpful in answering the new question. Reference Staff Multnomah County Library ------------------------ --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more